Trump says he is ‘not confident’ over Gaza ceasefire



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US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was not confident that all three phases of the ceasefire in Gaza would be implemented.

Mr Trump was speaking from the Oval Office as he signed a batch of executive orders, hours after his inauguration.

“That's not our war over there, but I'm not confident, but I think they're very weakened,” he said, referring to Hamas.

On Sunday, after months of stalemate, a ceasefire began in Gaza, halting 15 months of conflict sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people on October 7, 2023. About 46,900 Palestinians have been killed and much of the coastal enclave has been flattened since then.

Although much of the agreement between Israel and Hamas was negotiated under Joe Biden's administration, its implementation will take place under Mr Trump. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff took part in the mediated talks in Doha.

The agreement comprises three phases, beginning with a six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and ending with Israel's complete withdrawal from the enclave and its reconstruction.

“Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Mr Trump said. “It's really got to be rebuilt in a different way.”

Echoing plans from Israel's extreme right-wing settler movement, Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner last year said that Gaza has “valuable” waterfront property. Mr Kushner worked on Middle East issues for Mr Trump's first administration, and in his role advanced US efforts to further integrate Israel into the Middle East.

“Gaza is interesting,” Mr Trump said. “It's a phenomenal location on the sea, best weather. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but some fantastic things could be done with Gaza.”

Earlier on Monday, he rescinded Biden-era sanctions imposed on settler groups and people accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Mr Biden's administration had accused settler groups of undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank. The sanctions froze their US assets and barred Americans from dealing with them.

Palestinians and rights groups say violence from Israeli settlers and land grabs have been on the rise, particularly during the war on Gaza.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

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“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Manchester City 2

Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'

Crystal Palace 3

Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)

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MATCH INFO

Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:

Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2

Second leg:

Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm

Updated: January 21, 2025, 12:25 PM